More Than Me
by Lachesis
Summary: Inuyasha goes again to pull Kagome back from her time. This time though, he's put to work before he gets the chance to escape. *complete*
1. The Many Shades of Feh

Inuyasha sat comfortably in one of the trees closest to the Bone Eater's Well. He could feel the texture of the bark through his heavy coat, but he didn't let it bother him. This was his third day on watch for Kagome to return to him, her forth day gone. _"Everyone deserves a day with their family, if they have 'em" _he thought, watching the well. _"But, she doesn't need to be gone this long."_ He smelled Miroku's presence before he was aware of him standing under the tree branch that had been his lookout today. 

"Inuyasha," Miroku calmly stated. "Will you come out of the tree?"

"Feh" Inuyasha said. In this instance, Feh meant that he could hear the monk just fine from here, and didn't feel like moving.

Miroku took the response as a no, and continued talking, much to Inuyasha's annoyance. "Why have you not gone to her yet?" he asked, in the same infuriatingly calm tone. 

"Feh" Inuyasha said again. This time, he meant that he was thinking about it, but just hadn't wanted to fight with her when he got there. 

Miroku took the response to mean he didn't care to go and get her. "She does care about you, you know. You care about her, too, or you wouldn't be waiting so anxiously for her to return." The monk's voice was starting to grate on Inuyasha's nerves. 

"I'm not anxious," Inuyasha snapped, still not opening his eyes or leaving his perch. "She said three days gone. This is the forth day. She lied to me." Inuyasha paused, hearing his own hurt in his voice. _"Where'd that come from? Who cares if she's gone or not…"_ Deeper in his own mind, he heard a quiet response. _"You do"_ it said. "Feh" he answered to his quiet voice and to Miroku both.

"I'm sure she didn't intend it," Miroku calmly answered to calm Inuyasha's own nerves. "She does have a whole other life back there, you know."

Inuyasha tensed on the branch, suddenly aware of the uncomfortable position and the painful tree bark. He opened his eyes half way against the light of the afternoon and dropped to the ground in front of Miroku. Miroku took a step back, to avoid being in Inuyasha's personal space. Inuyasha glared at Miroku. "Her life there isn't as important as her life here with me," Inuyasha announced stubbornly. His eyes widened slightly ad the admission to the monk, and he quickly amended his statement. "She does have to find the shards after all." He smirked at Miroku and crossed his arms across his chest, daring the monk to argue his meaning. 

Miroku looked defiantly at Inuyasha, irritating him to no end. "Of course," Miroku said, and Inuyasha could hear in his tone that Miroku didn't buy his excuse for an instant. 

"Feh" Inuyasha responded and looked away, dropping his arms to his side. This time, Feh was his way of telling the monk to believe whatever he wanted, just leave him alone. He looked right at the Bone Eater's Well, and if his will alone would cause it, Kagome would come back at any moment and end this conversation with the annoying monk. 

"Shall I tell Sango and Shippou that you have gone to retrieve her?" Miroku asked, looking at the well instead of at Inuyasha.

"Feh." With that, Inuyasha jumped from the ground and gracefully disappeared into the well. 

Miroku shook his head, though no one was around to see him, and said, "That one must have been a yes."


	2. Oldfashioned Preparations

Inuyasha pushed the door to the shrine around the Bone Eater Well open, and stared at Kagome's house in amazement. The path and court was cleaned, and white washed as it might have been in his own time. The shrine he was in had been painted with some vile smelling substance, but it made it shine like cherry wood. The other building, near the old man's store was washed, and there were flowers hanging from the doorway. 

Inuyasha stepped down carefully, wishing he had washed his feet before walking across the stones. "Ach! Inuyasha! Stop right there!" The old man's voice froze Inuyasha with one foot in the air. "Don't walk on that yet. I'll get you a towel to wash your feet." Inuyasha looked to where the old man was speaking from, and was surprised to find him in the robes of a priest of the shrine. Inuyasha didn't move, staying balanced on one foot, intending on being stubborn, and waited patiently while the old man ran into the house. _I guess this is a shrine, _he thought to himself, _but somehow I didn't realize it was ever in use._

Kagome rushed out of the house, carrying two towels with her. The old man followed behind her, anxiously hurrying her on. "He's going to make a mess of the steps, and I won't let that happen." The old man's eyes widened slightly to see Inuyasha had frozen, as he was commanded. 

Inuyasha grinned and bared his fangs for the old man. "You sure took long enough," he yelled across the courtyard. 

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome jumped, and told him quickly. "He just told me you were here."

Inuyasha looked from her to the old man, and realized she thought he was speaking to her. _You should tell her that it wasn't her that you were teasing,_ he told himself. But instead, "Feh." 

Kagome was still prattling on, even as she wiped his raised foot off and dried it carefully, on her knees in front of him. "One of the elders of the neighborhood has passed away and requested that his funeral be here. We've been working non-stop getting the shrine in order." She nudged his other foot, and he switched. "The lacquer on the Bone Eater's Well hadn't dried, and its too sticky for us to push it open or I would have been back yesterday. Cleaning sucks." Kagome finished, breathlessly and looked up at him.

Inuyasha turned an even deeper shade of red. _She cleaned my feet like a servant, now she's staring at me. What am I supposed to do? I should say something. Anything. _"Feh," he said, from behind where his hair had fallen in his face when he looked down to watch her. _Try again, Inuyasha._ "Thank you." He held his hand out to help her up.

Kagome blushed this time. "Oh, I'm sorry, I should have asked if…" she trailed off as her hand touched his and he pulled her up. Their eyes locked for a moment, and he was amazed at the life she always had behind hers. The contact was electrifying for him, but then it always was. "…if it was alright to stay extra," she improvised, but he could tell by the look in her eyes that wasn't what she meant to say. They both blushed again.

Inuyasha shrugged and looked at the ground. "Someone kicked it, and this is a shrine of sorts. I guess it was to be expected sometime." He shrugged again. "I only came cause they asked me to." He jerked his head towards the well.

"Ahem," the old man was watching from behind Kagome. "Its good that you did come. I was waiting for you," he grinned at Inuyasha. "I don't trust Souto on the roof of the shrine, nor am I spry enough to get up there. Will you patch the roof with some tiles for us?"

Flashing his eyes at the old man, Inuyasha pointed to the building with flowers. "That shack you mean?" He asked, condensendingly. "I guess that if you're foolish enough to put a roof on it, I can humor you by patching it." 

"Inuyasha," Kagome snapped at him. "Behave yourself."

"Feh," he said, meaning that he'd said he'd do it already, so why complain.

"Osuwari," Kagome said, and Inuyasha instantly was flattened. "Weren't you ever taught to respect your elders?"

Inuyasha pried his face from the ground and glared at Kagome. "I said I'd do it, didn't I? Do you ever listen to what I say?" He added, frustrated for being sat. 

Instantly Kagome flushed pink, and he noticed it was a different blush than she'd had all day. This was one where she was embarrassed for doing something wrong. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha." She held out her own arm, to help him up. The whole thing was absurd to him. One moment, they were almost close, then she had to go and do this horrible thing to him. He didn't take her arm to raise to his feet.

"Feh," he said to her, refusing to look. He turned to the old man who was watching them. "So, where's the tiles at? Is it obvious which ones need replaced?" 

The old man grabbed his arm and led him away from Kagome. "The tiles are in the back of the shrine. Just replace the ones with holes in them. Start with the largest holes, so if there isn't enough tiles it won't be quite as obvious." 

Behind him, Inuyasha heard Kagome run into the house, and he thought he could smell her crying. But, rather than go check on her and disappoint the old man, who really had been waiting for him to do this, he sighed heavily and turned back to listen to what he was saying.

"Really, don't worry about her, Inuyasha. You two are too much alike, and it causes friction sometimes. But, beyond that, even I can tell she cares for you." 

"Excuse me?" Inuyasha's eyes opened, surprised. One moment they were talking about roof tiles, the next he was assuring him of Kagome's affections. "What does it matter if she cares for me or not?" 

The old man smiled wisely. "I can hardly wait for the wedding." He winked at Inuyasha and turned to leave. "Don't take too long. Dinner will be ready soon." 

"Feh," Inuyasha said, and jumped on the roof to start inspecting the damage to the aged tiles.


	3. Dinner with the Family

__

"Patching the roof was actually kind of fun." Inuyasha thought to himself as he walked back to the Higurashi house. _"Plus, it gave me plenty of time to figure out how to get Kagome back the best. She shouldn't have 'sat' me in front of her family. That's just rude, and it makes me look bad."_ Inuyasha felt the anger boiling up inside him, and focused it on a skill that he hadn't used in a very long time. He knocked briskly on the door that Kagome and her family had been going in and out of all day.

The door opened, and Mrs. Higurashi stood there, surprised he had knocked. "We left it open for you, Inuyasha. Its dinner time, so I figured you wouldn't be far behind." 

"Thank you for your consideration, Honorable Mrs. Higurashi," Inuyasha bowed deeply, as he was taught as a child to bow to elders of high standing. "However, entering a house uninvited is not polite." He stood up and grinned at her, proud of himself for remembering all this. After all, he hadn't used formal language since his mother was alive. 

Mrs. Higurashi looked taken aback, but didn't hesitate. "Please come in, Inuyasha, and join us for dinner," she said, with a smile and equally politely. 

Inuyasha followed her into the dining room, where dinner was laid out. Kagome and Souta and their grandfather were already filling their bowls with noodles and beef. Inuyasha grinned, _"This will show her,"_ he thought. He stopped in front of their grandfather and bowed deeply. "The roof has been patched, Honorable Sir," he said in his most polite court voice. "Thank you very much for sharing your dinner with this one." Inuyasha smiled carefully at the old man, avoiding showing his fangs. 

Grandfather looked at Mrs. Higurashi and raised an eyebrow. She shrugged back at him, Inuyasha heard. "You are most welcome. Please have a seat," and pointed Inuyasha to the empty seat at the table, next to Kagome. 

Inuyasha sat down. Kagome instantly grabbed his bowl to show him how to put the food together. "This is like ramen, but there's a stew that goes on top of the noodles, making a soup."

"I do know how to eat, woman," Inuyasha interrupted her harshly. "I've been taught all sorts of basic rules. I can talk, I can eat and this may surprise you but I can even read." He snatched his bowl back from her, and turned to Souta, who had the stew in front of him. "Could you pass the meat?" He asked, not as harshly as he spoke to Kagome, but definitely more politely than normal. 

Souta grinned, "Sure, Inuyasha." He handed the bowl over, and stuck his tongue out at Kagome when he thought Inuyasha wasn't looking.

"That's not proper behavior for the table, Souta," Inuyasha said, simply, and filled his bowl. 

"So, Inuyasha," Mrs. Higurashi started, in an attempt to head off the inevitable argument between him and Kagome that she could sense brewing. "Reading is not common in your time, is it? Where did you learn to read?" 

"I am a lord's son, ma'am," Inuyasha responded, putting his chopsticks down to talk without eating. "A powerful demon lord who was wise enough to secure an education." Inuyasha ignored her and her father's surprised looks and tried not to feel Kagome's eyes watching him. _"Come on, you're doing good, you can tell them more."_ His voice encouraged him on._ "Prove you're not just a rude slob."_ "I am only a half demon myself, and my half-brother is full demon and my elder, so he inherited all the lands when our father died." 

"Did you not get anything?" Grandfather asked, quietly impressed at Inuyasha's conversational skills and heritage. 

"Good sir, I received my life. For that, I should be grateful." Inuyasha thought that sounded bitter and decided he'd better add some to that. "Halfbreeds are not favorably looked on, so life was not easy. Once my mother died I had to learn that the hard way." He paused again, realizing there wasn't anything good in that story. So, he shrugged and went back to eating. 

He could feel the tension at the table, and realized he was the only one eating. _"If I say anything to break this up, then it'll be rude and I'll never prove to them that I'm worthy. But, if I don't say anything, then its just going to get worse. No, no Feh! Find something else._ Inuyasha sighed deeply, then changed the subject. "There were not enough tiles to fix all the holes in the roof." 

Everyone looked surprised at the change of subject, but no one wanted to argue, and went back to eating. 

"Well, they aren't predicting any rain for tonight," Grandfather mused. "So it should be fine." 

"I patched the holes with the tiles that I replaced, sir." Inuyasha sat up a little more proudly. Living before all their modern conveniences had some benefits, since he'd learned how to make materials stretch and reuse less than perfect materials. "They will not leak, although they do not look as good as the tiles surrounding them." 

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Grandfather said, with a smile. "I do appreciate that." 

Inuyasha nodded, "You are most welcome, honorable sir."

Kagome made a sound next to him. He turned and looked at her, ready to see what she had to say. "I'm sorry that I snapped at you earlier. You did a good job on the roof, and this has to be the most calm meal we've had in weeks." Inuyasha tilted his head to one side and finished his bowl of noodles.

"Whatever," but even his harsh tongue wasn't enough to erase the smile off his face from the compliment.

He pushed the bowl away and stood up suddenly. After turning and bowing quickly to Mrs. Higurashi he turned his tone back to his court voice. "I apologize for rushing through a fine meal, but I must return to my time before your guests arrive for the services. May I ask you to send Kagome with some of the ramen in the morning?" He smiled carefully, again avoiding showing his fangs.

"Of course, Inuyasha," she nodded, smiling at the boy's polite manners. 

Inuyasha turned and punched Kagome lightly on the arm. "I accept your apology," his eyes studied her seriously. "You will be at the well tomorrow morning, woman, or I won't be so nice when I come back to get you." He growled in the back of his throat, trying to ignore the voice that was telling him to pick her up and take her back now. _She's needed to help out with the services here. I will survive another night away from her._

Before anyone could say anything else Inuyasha turned and stormed back to the well house, pulling the door closed behind him. He heard Kagome trying to explain away his behavior, but knew that his actions had the desired affect and then some. _Now she knows I'm not just a wild monster. And, it had the added bonus of making her family like me more._ He told himself, as he pulled himself out of the well in his own time. _Do you care what her family thinks?_ The loud voice started up in his head. _Yes_ came the much quieter answer. Inuyasha shook his head to knock all the thoughts away. 

"So, you did not bring her back." He heard the monk's voice behind him, and turned around slowly. Miroku stood alone in the field, as though he was waiting for him to return with her. "Did you fight with her?"

Inuyasha crossed his arms, looking around for the kit or Sango. Not seeing any of them, he shook his head. "Feh. Her family shrine is hosting a funeral tonight, so she will stay and help." _Good job, a whole sentence. Miroku should be pleased. _The loud voice annoyingly complimented him. 

Miroku nodded knowingly. "Of course. She told us there was a shrine there now." 

"Feh." Inuyasha cut off the conversation, turned and walked away back into the forest. Behind him, he could hear the movement of the monk as he returned towards the village. 

Then, so soft that he was almost out of range of hearing it, "You did right to leave her there to attend to her family's honor." 

With one backward glance over his shoulder, Inuyasha muttered "Feh" again and left to find a tree for another restless night.


	4. Author's Note

This is my first fan fiction ever, but I'm not letting it get to me. I also am not a review junkie yet, so if I don't answer your reviews, that's why. I'm reading them, but I'm not letting them affect me. It hurts my ego too much. *giggles* 

Although, I will say in response to the review I got commenting on Grandfather's comment - Grandparents are weird. When I was moving in with my (now ex) boyfriend, my Grandma told me that she thinks living together before getting married is a good way to find out if you'd like someone enough for that or not. My Grandma is one of the most … conservative people I know. To have her tell me that freaked me out. For one, I didn't want to hear any love advice from the woman I used to beg candy from when I was little. Second, my Grandma had been married 50 years at that point, and to have her tell me that marriage sometimes isn't for everyone and you should play house with them instead… Scarred for life, I tell ya. *shrugs*

Finally, this is also my disclaimer. I don't own any of the characters in the story. 

And, this is the long version of the disclaimer. I work for a company that publishes RPGs and comic books. As a writer/editor in the company, I would be awed to see some character that I created used by other people in their own stories. However, as a person who also has some say over the profit making decisions of the company, I can see how "borrowing" characters can take away from the greater whole of the stories. So, having said that, if the owner, creator, writer or publishing company ever approaches me to take down any of my stories, I'd take them down in an instant. 

Domo arigato everyone. 


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